In the world of BRAC and saving money for the DoD and Navy, one has to question the purpose of building the new DD(X). Submariners have joked for decades that there only two types of ships… Submarines and Targets. Truly, no one expects to see great sea battles of WWII, and rarely has there been a need for large combatant escorts on the ocean. A modern Navy needs to reinvent itself.
Our Navy needs to concentrate on a three facetted supremacy, shore, airspace and waterspace. How can we accomplish this? First, Shore-based supremacy is accomplished by our Navy-Marine Corps Team. The use of Landing Crafts and other ships needed to transport Marines and Sea Bees to distant shores should be an acquisition priority. These ships should also be re-invented to provide ample self protection. There is no reason that they should need to be escorted by other warships. They are by definition, a warship.
Airspace supremacy is and has been accomplished by a very able Aircraft Carrier group. Maintaining the Carriers is a vital to establishing a forward deployed presence anytime anywhere. Carriers need to be reinvented to be multi-mission capable. Carriers need to carry their own set of deployable boats for littoral protection. Carriers should be virtually impenetrable fortresses from any surface or air strikes.
Finally, waterspace supremacy is virtually the domain of the Submarine. Any navy that does not have a submarine might as well not even attempt to conduct any sea-based operations. The US Submarine force has continued to evolve over the past 100 years, unlike any other part of the Navy. From diesel power to nuclear power, fast attack to being the last surviving leg of our nation’s nuclear triad, the submarine force is the “Tip of the Sword” for the US Navy. Using submarines to provide ship escort services, anti-submarine operations, special operations, forward deployed conventional missile batteries and on and on continues to prove that this where we get the most bang for our buck.
If the Navy really wants to save money, they need to get rid of these ridiculous surface ships that serve no real purpose, and concentrate on the three pronged approach to deploying forces. While I have not addressed non-combatant oriented ships, such as supply ships and mine sweepers, as long as their mission is unique, it should stand up to similar tests of need. The days of the “Great White Fleet” are over. Ships such as the Stark and Cole prove that deploying these types of vessels just do not make as much sense anymore, when a message to a submarine can mean the utter doom of shipping or war making capability of just about any country.
As we watch countries such as China and India invest more and more into submarines, we can be sure that the best defense is a more capable submarine platform. It is hard to imagine that there are better platforms that perform the missions as capable with less personnel than a U.S. Submarine. They are more capable, more survivable, and more threatening than any warship. The pittance that politicians are throwing at the Submarine Force to keep it afloat is a travesty to our Nation’s defensive posture. Without an effective and highly trained submarine force, our nation could essentially be considered defenseless.